Immigration and the Welfare State
It’s intersting to note that the US had almost no immigration laws in the 19th century. But we also didn’t have Social Security then, or the draft, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, income taxes, driver’s licenses, affirmative action, and so on.
Basically I’m just saying I really don’t understand those organizations which simultaneously (implicitly) support unrestricted immigration and the welfare state.
on August 14th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Well, my guess is that they’d point to the purpose for these programs. Social Security, Medicare, welfare, affirmative action, etc. are all supposed to give people a better shot at improving their life (never mind whether these programs actually do that or not). If that’s the reason that they support these programs, then I think it makes sense that they’d then support an immigration policy that is supposed to improve people’s lives by making it easier to move to a country where they’ll have more opportunities.
on August 14th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Yeah, I just seems to me they haven’t thought it through very well. How do you administer a welfare state if the government doesn’t know who is in the country?
on August 15th, 2007 at 2:36 am
Don’t tell anyone, but Area 51 is really about creating this magical creature. It’s like the tooth fairy, but instead of giving people quarters in exchange for molars, they give welfare checks for names and contact info.
Actually, I’m trying to think it through from their perspective, and I suppose that they could argue that people are still going to find a way to get into the U.S., but if it’s legal than at least there’ll be no reason to try and sneak in below the radar. I don’t know if that’s the response they would have, but that would be my first thought if I were to take their position.